He also sent letters to the same effect to the Spartans and to other places: For the Spartans, see the introductory comments on this section. The rendering of this verse must not make it sound like the letters to Sparta talked about maintaining friendly relationships with Rome. Jonathan was trying to establish good relations with several influential nations. A model that makes this clear is:

• He also sent letters to Sparta and other places, with the same purpose of establishing friendly relations.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.